Jail door operator



Sept. 13, 1966 c. a. BEDNAR 3,271,901

m1.. noon omsanoa original Filed March 1s. 1959 4 sheets-sheet 1 Sept. 13,1965 s. BEDNAR 3,271,901

- l.MIL Doon OPERATOR, v Original Filed March 18, 1959 l 4 Sheets-Shueet 2 I FIGi 2 FIG. 5 95) E l 94 2 f b E loog 59 a 'l r los" f l i "'o' 66% 2 i245 55 I 72 l 23cmE lg 84- L;

f 2a Z 33 5l 32 l 29. Wi Q/ 4Q v40g 29a i so 30 s4 -`92 x i 8O 26 FIG. IO

IN1/Enron.

.\ 59 l92d CHARLES B. BEDNAR ATTORNEY Sept. 13, 1956 c. B'.' Br-:DNAR 3,271,901I

JAH. noon OPERATOR Original Filed March 18. 1959- 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. eA

FIGy4 (23 I serL-I "Tza CHARLES B. BEDNAR ATTQRNEY Sept. 13, 1966 c. a. BEDNAR Jun Doon oPEnA'ron 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 original Fiied umh 1a, 1959 o x.. "T Tv M .7. wb. M Q h w FIG.` s

FIG. 9

s SYM/rl! AT ORNEY 3,271,901 i JAlL DOOR OPERATOR v Charles B. Beduar, Cleveland, Ohio, assigner to Van Dorn Company, a corporation, of f Continuation of application Ser. No. 800,277,1'Ma'r. 18, i 1959. This application nec. 29, 196s, ser. No. $111,522

14 Claims.l (Cl. 19d-l1) set to" slip-"or" release lrating of the motor.

' Patented sept. 13, 196s at torques below the maximum Still further in accordance with the invention'is a jail door operating and lockingmechanism wherein the rack moves the door-through 'a spring and latch fai-'rangement so arranged'that as t-hedoor is manually closed,.the latch releasesf'thespring vto complete the'locking operation.

This application is-a'continuationy application' of my prior applicaton'SN. 800,277,v ledfMarch '18, 1959, now abandonded.

This invention pertains to the art of door' operators" andmore particularly to a door operating and locking mechanism which may be remotely or locally actuated. l

The invention is particularly applicable to the art of jail doors and will be described with particular'reference thereto, although it will be vappreciated-that the inventionv has broader and other applications,

-ln the 'art of jails, it isv knownv to provide a plurality' of jail doors with electric power;operatingrnechanismi whereby the doors may be selectively or as a vgroupunlocked, opened, closed and locked frorna remote lposi- With such an arrangement andY with mechanism irnmediately` adjacent to the door which is capable of un Alockinggand opening thefdoor, it isnecessary that the entire mechanism be securelyfseale'd in 'a housing to pre-- vent any tampering by the prisoners. On -the `other' hand, it is also necessary to provide for manualioperation of the doors by-the jail'guardsin case ofan electric power failure orby` the prisoners themselves incase of a power failure coupled with an emergency calling for immediate evacuation of all of the jaji'l cells.

The necessity to enclose the mechanism ina securely. sealed housing has created a problem withv maintenance,

particularly of lubrication of the moving parts of the mechanism over a long period of years. l

Another problem with jail doors operating and locking -mechanism has been the cost andthe unduly` complicated mechanisms required in o rder to provide the required manual and remote operation.

Still another problem with jail door operating mechanism has been the habit of the prisoners to attempt to stop or.. interfere with the poweroperated closing of a door. In many instances this has resulted in an overload of thev actuating motor resul-ting in its'burnlockin'g mechanism., y

It isalso an'object of this invention to provide such a forv its intended purpose.

.Thus in accordance with the present invention, a door;v

operating mechanism is provided including a motor and a power drive mechanismvoperable under the force of the motor to open and close thedoor, the power driveI- mechanismbeing of the one way or self .locking type,

that is, of the type which will transmit motion or force in`one direction only, namely, from the motorto the doo'r whereby the power operating"mechanism'jacts as ,A

one of the locks 'for the door in any position, e her part way open or all the way closed, in 'combination withl i means to release the locking effect" of th'e Self-locking mechanism A "j" A" Further, in accordance with the present invention, the power drive` mechanism includes an `overload l"clutch away for clarity', of av door operating and locking mechaer, so as to be tamperproof.

f'A'lso in accordance with `the invention, apower operated jail door operating mechanism is provided which serves to lock the door in any position to which the the power mechanism has' moved the door in combina- 'tion with other .mechanical locking means,vprovision Further in accordance with the invention, a permanent vself-lubricated -rack gear is providedwherein the` teeth of the rack face upwardly-and members extend along the sides ofthe` rackabove and below t-he end and roots of-f the teeth respectively and are arranged with the rack toprov-ide an open-topped liquid-tight'container to be l at least-.in part filled with lubricating oil.

Accordingly, the principal object of the invention and improved door operating `fand 1 to provide a novel Another object of this invention is to provide a novel door operating mechanism which may lbe converted readily from power operation to manual operation, or vice versa, and still remain electively tamperproof. v

' Another object of this invention is to provide a novel motor-driven door operating and locking mechanism in which the motor drive constitutes a novel and simplified auxiliary lock -which prevents opened by a prisoner.

Another object of this invention isto' 'provide .a novel motor-driven door operating mechanism which has provision for preventing the motor from being lburned out if a prisoner jams the door i Another object ofthis invention is to provide a'novel door operating mechanism which includes a motor drive for normally operating the door and which vhas novel provision for selectivelydisconnecting the motor drive from the door. t

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel door operating mechanism which includes a motor drive for normally operating the door and vv*which yhas novel provisionfor releasing the motor drive and for unlocking thedoor simultaneously manually.

Another object of this-invention is to provide a novel door operating mechanism which includes a motor drive for normally operating the door and-,which has novel provision for releasing the motor drive and for conditioning the door tcbe openedrindividually by a` key which operates a lock on the door that is inaccessible to the prison- A further object of thisinvention ais to provide a novel motor-driven door-operating vmechanism whichv is selflubricating.

The invention mayt`ake physical form in certain parts and arrangementsfof parts, the .preferred embodiment of A which' will be describedin detail in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a lpart hereof andfwhefreinzf y FIGURE l isafront elevational'view, with parts broken the door from being` ,I l vill nism illustrating a' preferred embbrliixient'oftheI present invention; y FIGURE! is a along the line 2--2 in FIGURE `l; FIGURE 3 is a verticalv section taken approximately along the line 3--3 in FIGURE l; Y

vvertical section taken approximately l ekingagesn'the shoulder 29bon the cam. Thusj'iatthis time FIGURE 4 is a right end elevational view of the FIG- URE 1 apparatus;

- `FIGURES 5, 6 and.7 are enlarged fragmentary eleva- I tional views showing the actuation-.of the operating means for-.the twomechanical locks for the door as the door is y closed and locked, the'successive figures showing the successive stages of tins-operation;V

FIGURES is a fragmentary sectional view taken ap.- .v

proximately along the line 8--8 in-FIGURE l;

FIGURE 9 is a view taken approximately along the Aline 9 9 in FIGURE l; and v FIGURE 1o is en enlarged 'fragmentary from -eieva--V tional view yshowing the position oi the parts when the worm'drive `is disengaged from the Lrack.'

Referring .now to the drawings wherein the showings are for the purposes of illustratinga preferred embodiment of the invention only and not Yfor purposes of'limib ing same, FIGUREI shows va conventional jaildoor 2.

composed .of spaced horizontal and vertical b axswhich.

are interconnected to .form a rigid unit. The door is slid--l ably mounted on a doorway frame which includes'a top rail 21 disposed just above the top of the'door and a f dependingvertical right sidel member 22 vtoward which fthe; door .tisrto be Imoved when ybeing closed.

kso

The door is suspended from a door carriage 23 which f has a pair of spaced grooved rollers 24 and'25 ridingA e along an lupwardly facing rounded track 26 carried by the top rail 21 of the doorway frame,las .best seen .in FIG- URE 2. As shown in FIGURE 2,' the door carriage 2,3 is

of inverted L-shape, presenting an upper horizontal leg At its.

23a which extends rearwardly in FIGURE 1. vfront side the-.door carriage 23 is bolted-to an L-shaped member 27 which is connected to the top of the door `20. With this arrangement the door 20 is adapted to move as a unit with the door carriage 23 asthe latter moves lengthwise along the doorway framey rail 21.

vright in Piovani; fera ppr'pgsewhien wat be described in detail hereinafter. e yIn laccordance with the present invention, there is provided a spring coupling between the rack 28 and theA door carriage 23 which biases the rack to the right relative to the carriage 23 when com 30 is raised as just described. Thus vas shown in FIGURE `l, the horizontal top leg 23a of the door carriage 23 is formed with an elongated slot 150 which slidably receives a slide block 1,51 bolted to the underside of ,therack 28. vAn, .inverted L-shaped connector 152 is 4attached to the threaded end of a hori zontal rod 153 by means of lock nuts 154 and 155. A

bracket 156 is welded onto the back ofthe ydoor carriage 23 below the latters top legy 231:1.` This bracket presents rearwardly extending opposite end walls 157 and 158 which slidably receive the rod 153 connectedvto the rack. A metal washer 159 is retained on the rod 153 by means of a retainer 160. A coil spring 161 is engaged under compression between this washer and the left,I end wall 15,7 on thebracketj 156 on` the door carriage. This spring biases the slide block 151 to the left end of the slot 150 in the door carriage.- ,l

`Yflnthe normal operation of the door, the-rackl is driven :o thev right in 4FIGURE 1 to close the door by means ofv a drive'imparted to the rack by a gear motor unit. Asshown in FIGURE l; this unit includes an elec- I' vtric motor 50 mounted on' a -base 51 whichis pivotally supported at 52 adjacent its left end Aon a fixed support 53.

An elongated horizontal rack 28 having tecthalong its f l top extendsfthrough and is fastenedto a U-shaped channel member 36 which is slidably mounted on top `of the horizontal top leg 23a of the door carriage l23. This channelv lmember 36 extends about two-thirds of the length of the rack 28, terminating at each end short of thefcortesponding end of the rack, as shown in FIGURE l".

AThe rackA 28 carries a cam 29 on its right end which cooperates with a latch pivotally'moun'ted fat 31 on the door carriage to Amove in unison therewith during the power operation of the door.

As best seen in FIGURE 3, the cam 29 has a rearwardly projecting horizontal leg 29a which is rigidly connected to the rack'28 through spacer blocks 32 and'33 and a bolt Referring to FIGURE 9, the motor has a rotary output shaft 54 which is coupled to a worm 55 through overload clutch 130 constituted by a first. clutch plate 131 attached to the motor shaftr54 and a confronting second clutch plate 132 coupled to the worm shaft 133. A coil spring l34'adjusted by a nut 135 biases the second clutch plate 132 lresl-iently against the first clutch plate 131. For

. torque loads below that which the clutch is set to transmit,

ie., the maximum designed output torque of the motor 50, the clutch 130 couples the motor shaft 54 to the worm shaft 133.' The worm 55 meshes with a small Worm gear 56 which is connected to a lar-ger spur gear 57. The latter meshes with the teeth formedon the top of the' rack 23. For Itorque loads in excess of the motor designed g output torque, the clutch slips. l

34 which interconnects them.v VThe uppermost spacer" block 33 has a reduced upper end which is slidably `re` voeived in an elongated slot 35 formed in leg'23a.

Referring to FIGURE Il, the bottom'leg 29a of the cam terminates short of the right end of the opstanding cam proper 29 and presents a vertical shoulder A291 which faces to the right. The pivoted latch 3Q presents a depending lip 30a which is adapted toengage this shoulder 29h and thereby couple the door carriage 23 to the cam 29 and the rack 2B when the dooris being closed.

The latch 30 presents an inclined bottom 'face 30h As shownv in FIGURES l and 9, the worm 55 andthe gears 56 and 57 are rotatably supported by ahousing59 which is connected to vthe motor housing. The gears 56 and 57 are mounted rotatably on ashaft 60 which is tixedly mounted in the housing 59-extendin-g' horizontally from front to back thereon and perpendicular to the axis of the worm 55. A coil spring 61, which loosely encircles the shaft 60, is under compression between Y the front wall 59a of this housing and the worm gear 56.

' -This spring positions the worm gear 56 in meshing engagewhich is positioned to engage the rearwardly extending'A horizontal bottom leg 40a ofl an L-shaped member 40v (FIGURE 3) which isbolted to an inverted U-sbaped bracket 41 attached to the doorway frame. As described -in detail hereinafter,A while the ydoor 20 is` being moved from an open position to a closed position (from left to tight in FIGURE 1), the lip 30a on the latch continuously `auxiliary lock for. the door.

mentwith the motor drivenv worm 55 and positions the spur gear 57 in meshing engagement with rack 28. This arrangement constitutes 'a right angle worin drive for driving the rack 28 from the motor 50. The gear mechanism is a one w'ay or self-locking mechanism which trans- 'mits motion or power'in .ofk direction only,namely, from motor to the door. y

, important and advantageous characteristic of this drive arrangement for the rack is that it constitutes an Thr-friction` between the teeth on the .worm 55. and the geary 56 and thel pitch or transmitting motion from the gear 56 to th'e worm 55.

Thus any amount of force exerted on the door to the left. cannot force the rack 28 to the leftv against the restrain-j ing force exerted by these meshing parts. Accordingly, as long asthe gear motor unit is in the position shown in FIGURE 1, with the spur gear 57 meshing with the rack4 g 28, the door can be moved oly by energizing the motor jams the door against movement. In such event, the

`'Shaft 66 'is connected to one kend of a second arm 68 so that this arm moves angularly inunison with the shaft. As shown in FIGURES 3 and 8, the leftend of the arm 68 is attached to a syleeve69` whichfis rsecured to shaft 66 by a tapered pin 70. The rightend of the arm 68 is pivotally connected at 71 to thefupper end of a vertically reciproative-drvopto1t72. v ratsam!) bon is slidload on the motor will exceed the value for which the v clutch is set and the first clutch plate 131 will simply overrun the second clutch is so restrained.

' Since substantially the entire weight'of the motor 50, housing 59, shaft 54, clutch 130, shaft 133, worm 55 and gears 56 and 57 is to the right of the pivotal support 52, this entire gearmotor unit tends to pivot clockwise in FIGURE 1 to maintain the spur gear S7 in meshing engagement with the rack 28. This is the normal condition of the mechanism. However, whenit is.- desired to plate`l32 aslong as the door ably' received byifa guide 73 whichis attached to the y Y, p p p 'Y y bracket 4l`and guides'` thedrop bolt for movement `ver- Also, the provision. of the clutch 130 insures against 4 burning out the motor 50 in the event that aprisoner tically. vfitsiowerendthfe drop bolt iscoupled to a verticallyrecipro'cative rod 74. This irodat its lower end is connected toa vertically Ireciprocat-ive `latch memi ber 7S which`,cooper ates with a keeper 76 attached to the right end of ltliecloor 20.` The keeper 4presents an uplwardly-,facing notchy 77 whichfislpositioned toreceive the latrch member 75 when, the door'isufully -closed. This constitutes one lock for the door.v AIt will be-noted that ythis lock, is exposed totampering, e.g.', filling the notch 77, but in-accordance with the present invention two additional locksareprovided so that such tampering can- K, not enable thedoorfto be opened by unauthorized persons.

disconnect the gearmotor unit from the rack, this can be done by pivoting the gearmotor unit counterclockwise inl FIGURE l, as will be described in detail hereinafter.

The previously described U-shaped member 36 is sealed at its ends, as by welding, to the rack 28 and provides a reservoir for lubricant. As shownin FIGURES l and ...4, the upstanding sides of this- U-vshapcd member 36 extend above the rack and close the opposite ends of the recesses between successive teeth on the rack. Also the gear 57 is slightly narrower than the rack 28. Accord-l lAttention isinow Vdirected to the couplingbetween the drop bolt 72 and the bar 74 which is connected to the Dlatch member75. As best seen in FIGURE4, the drop bolt 72 is formed withl a horizontal yextension 72a at its lowerend which has an oversized hole 78 which-slidably l. receives ,the upper end of the bar 74. The bar 74 on its and. latch.l member 75 upward.. However, the converse is not true. That is, when thelatch 75 and bar 74 are pushed upward (or heldupward) thisv does "not impart ingly, these closed-off recesses constitute a reservoir for retaining a suitable lubricant. During each operation of the door, whether to open it or close it. these lubricantan upward force to the drop bolt 72. 'Accordingly, if a prisoner in somemanner is ,able to lift up on= the bar .74,

' or if he stuffs the-notch 77 inthe keeper 76 so that the filled recesses on the rack are engagedbythe-gear 57. I The gear 57 picks up oil and carries it intothe gear A reduction housing to also lubricate the gears S5 and 56.

The mechanism is permanently self-lubricated and requires no servicing. The length of the U-shaped member 36 along the rack may be varied as desired, as long as enough lubricant recesses are provided to make the mechanism substantially permanently,self-lubricated.

' In accordance with the present invention, the previously mentioned cam 29, which is carried by the rack 28, is arranged to operate two separate mechanical door locks. Referring to FIGURES 1 and 5-8, the upstanding portion of this cam presents a rise surface 60 which inclines up.-

ward from the right end of the cam, a horizontal top surface 61 which extends to the left from the-upper end of the rise surface 60, and a fall surface 62 which extends downward to the left from the left end ofthe top surface 6l.

A roller 63 is positioned to ride in succession over the rise surface 60, the top surface 61 and the fall surface 62 on the cam as the cam and the rack 28 moveto the right in these figures. This roller is carried on one end bar 74 cannot drop-down, this will haveA no effect on the end of the arm 68.

The importance of this safety feature will be apparent l now.` A verticallyvreciprocative lock bar 80 hasits upper end pivotally connected at 81 to the arm 68 between the latters pivotedand free ends. A guide'82 bolted to the bracket 4l guides the lower end of this lockbar for slidable movement vertically. Toward/its upper end the n Sl on the-cam. In. this position ofV the partsf-the fall of an arm` 64 which at its opposite end is attached to a` i sleeve 65 (FIGURE 8) connected toa shaft 66 by means of a tapered'pin 67 (FlGURE 3). As best seen in FIG- URES 3 and 8, shaft l66- is rotatably mounted in the l spaced opposite sides of the support bracket 41 mounted on the doorway frame. With this arrangement,` as the cam 29 andthe rack 28 move to the`right in FIGURE l, the rise surface 60 on the cam forces the arm 64 counterclockwise in FIGURE 5 to turn theshaft l66 a corresponding amount. The roller 63 and the arm 64 `are held in their uppermost position as the horizontal' top surfacev 61 on the cam moves beneath the roller. Thiscondition is shown in FIGURE 6. Then, as the iralckland camcontinue to move to the right, the roller 63 rides down along the fall surface 62 on thecam andthe arm 64/ FIGUREI) the motor 2s to -therrtghtf door carriage 2 3. Y

surface 62 on thecam is engaged bythe-cam. follower roller 63 and the arms 64 and.68 begin. tdrop down.

At this time, the lock bar 80 constitutes a second lock which acts betweenthe frame and the. door; carriage 23.

`This` second lock can be released only by lifting up on the arm 68 and, as already pointed out,;it is not possible to 4liftpthis arm up merely, by, tampering with the first lock `formed latch member. and the keeper 76 on the door stop'is provided in: the form ofa block 90 which 1s carried `by the vframey bracket 41y and is positioned in the path of movement of` ashoulder 91 presentedby the Power operation ofthe door door in a partly or'fully open position (to the left in v -S0` is energized to drive the rack A'tithis time thev rack is" coupled to the door carriage 23 through the described coupling between the latch 30 carried vby the door carriage andthe Inthe operation ofwth'is mechanism, starting with the prisoner to lock a guard inthe cell.

If'at anytime while the door is beingopened it appearsthat the prisoner or prisoners'will attempt to break out,

cam 29 carried by the rack. Therefore, the door car- Ariage 23 and thedoor 20 move to the right unison with the rack.

At this time the slide block'lSl attached to the rack 28 is at the left end of the slot 150'i n the door carriage and Vthe spring 161 is tightly compressed. j When the door, door carriage and rack have moved Ato the position shown in FIGURE 5, the 'rise' surface 60 on the `cam 29 carried by"thefrackbegisto move past the `roller 63.' As the roller rides upaeross this rise surface on the cam, the right end of' arm 64 moves upward; causing shaft' 66 to turn vcourlte'r-clockwise and thereby causing the other arm 68 to move upward. The upward movement'of arm 68 pulls the drop'blt72 and latch bar 74 upward, as well as pulling the lock 'bar80 upward a sufficient 'amount thatthe block 8 3 will spaced slightly above the top 23a of the dooricjar'riage as the' latter ady vancesto'the right.

. Suita-blelimit. switches (not shown) are provided for `automatically.defnergizing the motor 50 when the door comes to the fullyopened or fully-closed position. The use of such limit switches and the electrical circuits associated therewith form no part of the present invention.

from burning out the motor.

Manual operation of the door In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a novel arrangement for selectively disconnecting the power drive, either for a single door or for several doors at the same time. This is done when it is desired to loperate the doorA manually.

" Upon continuedmovement of the rack and the door carriage to the right, the top`23a ofthe door carriage `passes beneath the block 83 on lock bar 80'and the top face 61'of cam 29 passes beneath-the roller'63, maintain? ing both arms 64 and 68 lifted. condition is shown in FIGURE 6. l

As the left end of the horizontal ,top'surfa'ce-H on the Referring to FIGURE 1, the housing 59 in the gearmotor unit carries a horizontal rod 92a which constitutes a cam follower riding in a cam slot 92b formed in a horizontally reciprocative cam plate 92. The cam plate 92 cam reaches Ythe roller 63, the inclinedv bottom face h on the pivoted latch mounted on the door carriage engages the L-shaped member 40 mounted on thev doorway frame. As aconsequence, latch 30 isrpivoted counter,- clockwise in FIGURE l, disengaging from the'cam 29 1 crriiediby'the rack 28. At this time, the shoulder 91 on the` door carriage engages the stop 9 0, 'which prevents any further movement of the door carriage andthe door to the right: not locked. i i

`Due to its release by the pivoted latch30, ythe rack is lfree to continue to move to the right, and the fall surface 62 on -cam 29passes beneath the roller'63. Also At' this time the door is'fully closed, 'but spring 161 expands. As the roller rides down alongthis v fall surface the right ends ofthe arms '64 and 68 move downward, lowering the drop bar'80 until the'block 83 on the latter seats in the notch 84 formed in the top 23a of the door carriage. The latch member 75 drops into the notch 77 in the keeper 76 on the door ati-the same time. Thus, the door and the door car'riage are locked in three places. Y s

Thus, the overtravel movement. ofthe rack t28, Ywhich takes place just after the door 20 has been closed, causes -the door to be locked in two places.

In such overtravel movement .of the rack 28, guide blocks 151, 33 engage against the right ends of the slots 150 and 35 in the door carriage 23.

The door may be unlocked and opened by this same power drive, simply by energizing the motor in re- ,.verse. `When this is done, the rack `28 is drawn to the 2 leftl compressing spring 161. At thesame time" the surface 62A on the cam 29 raises arm 64 which in turn lifts i. drop bolt 72 and lock bar 80 to release thesetwo mechanical locks.` The door 20 is` then free 'to vrnove tov the left on the carriage 23.

As the door commences to open cam 40a releases latch 30 and the rack is thenlocked to the carriage with spring 161 compressed. v'The door may continue'to open until a limit switch (not shown) de-energizcs, the. motor. The

door is then locked open making it Vimpossible for a the motor is simply de-energzed at which time the door stops moving, and because of the self-locking, one-way power drive mechanism between therack and the motor4 thorized prison personnel.

issuspended from a pair of brackets 93, 9 4 attached to inclinedface 92d which leads to an elongated horizontal upper seat 92e, which is disposed at a higherI level tharr the seas nz. when me' cam pian. 92 is moved to the right in' FIGURE. 1, the cam follower 92a rides upjthe incline92d and engages the upper seat 92e. When this action takes place, the housing 59 of the gearmotor unit is thereby lifted up away from the rack 28 so that it is no longer in meshing engagement with the rack.

The' shaft 9S to which cam plate 92 is connected is s lidably supported by a plurality of fixedlyY positioned bearings 96. A suitable mechanical operating mechanism (not shown) is provided for operating shaft 95. Such operating mechanism is accessible only to authorized'personnel, such as prison guards. A single shaft 95 is provided for several doors, each of which has itsown in'- dividual gearmotor unit and its own locking mechanism, as described. l

In accordance with the present invention, the shaft 95 may be positioned in one of three different; positions.

In the first position, shown in FIGURE 1 and described already, it permits each gearmotor unit to mesh with the rackfor the corresponding door, so that each door is under the control of the respective gearmotor unit.

In a second position of the shaft 95, all of the gearmotor units are disconnected from the respectivek doors,

ybut the mechanical locks remain locked. .Each door may be opened individually only by a key possessed by au- The entire mechanism is covered or concealed from vaccess from the jail corridor by a continuous cover plate "102, a fragmentary part .of which is shown in phantom in FIGURE 1 and in cross-section in FIGURE 3.

As shown in FIGURE 3, a plate formed with an oblong keyhole 101 is connected to the shaft 95 to move in unison therewith. When the shaft is moved to the right, the keyhole 101 comes intoregistration with the shaft 66 and an opening 103 in thefcover plate 102 (see FIGURES) when the cam follower 92a engages the uppe'rseat '92e in the cam slot 92b just slightly beyond the inclined'portion 92d of thecam slot. Shaft carriesa Vcross pin 66a,` which projects above andi-below shaft 66. when the locks vare engaged, asshown inFIGURB l.V

' This ycross pin 66a may be engaged by a suitable key 50, the door will be locked in that positionand cannot be fmhef 0Pnd except upon re-energization of. the-mato; as previously described.

vv(not shown) which is inserted through the vkeyhole 101 whenthe latter registers with the shaft 6,6; By turning thisl'tey,"the shaft may be turned to lift the drop bolt -72 for the first lockandthelock bar 80.in the second lock, thereby opening both locks.

having been moved up out ofengagementby the cam plate 92, the door is unlocked now and may be opened.

After being opened in this manner, the door may be movedback and forth` freely. When the door is opened,

the door carriage 23 is moved to the left. 'Urrough the coupling provided by spring-161 and slide block 151, the door carriage will retract the rack 28 tothe left, even though the latch 30 remains uncoupled fromcam 29. If the door is again closed manually, the spring 161 will insure that the rack 28 will operate both mechanical locks 75 and 80 automatically.

Manually, as is used in this specification and in the claims, is used to connote the direct application of force to the door itself to open and close it as distinguished from the application of manual force to an operating mechanism such as a crank or a push rodor the like.

In a third position of the shaft 95, all of the gearmotor The gearmotor uniti,

, If the teeth of the drive unit do not immediately mesh units operated by that shaft are disconnected from the respective doors and all of the locks onthe several doors are automatically unlocked.

This third position of the shaft 95 is farther 'to the l right in FIGUR-E l, with the cam follower 92a engagin. the upper seat 92e in the cam slot 92h near the left end of the latter. as shown in ,FIGURE l0.

The mechanism for releasing the door locks in this position of shaft 95 includes a chain 110 (FIGURE l) pivotally connected at its lower end to the upper ar'm 68 in the lock-operating mechanism and pivotally connected iat itsiupper end to a slide member 111 which is slidably mounted on shaft 95. This chain 110 is a flexible tension member and in effect serves as a lost motion mechanism permitting the transfer of force in namely, from the shaft 95 to the lock-operating mechanism and allowing the lock-operating mechanism to be otherwise operated without suchchain 110 transmitting the motion of lock operation to the shaft 95. A stop member 112 is rigidly mounted on shaft 95 to move in unison therewith. W-hen shaft 95 is pulled far enough to the right in FIGURE l, this stop member 112 engages the slide member lll, and upon continued movement of shaft 95 to the right, it pulls the slide member 111 to the right also. This pulls the chain 110 uparound a fixed bearing provided by a tubular horizontal member 113, lifting the free end of arm 68 upward. Such upward movement of arm 68 releases-the latchmember 75 at the first lock and also releases the lock bar 80 at the second lock. 1

This action takes place at every one of the doors so that such movement of the shaft 95 is locks at all of the doors simultaneously.

effective to open the l one direction only,

with the rack, the side of actuator 140 strikes the side of projection 143 and the actu'ator'140 slides on shaft 95 compressing one of the springs 141 or 142. As soon as the door ismoved manually, or as soon aslthe motor. is started, the gears mesh and actuator 140-is moved to the position shown. in `FIGURE 1. i

From the foregoing description, the illustrated yembodiment consitutes a simplified and practical arrangement for the accomplishmentfof the stated purposesof this invention. However, it'is to'be'u'nder- .stood that while there has been described in detail herein, 't and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, various modifications, omissions and refinements which depart from the disclosed embodiment may be adoptedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

f Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. In combination witha door which is movable between open zand closedA positions, a doorway frame at which said door is mounted, and a first lock mechanism for locking said door closed, said first lock mechanism including azdro'p bolt which is movable downward to lock the door closed, a second lock mechanism for` locking the door closed which is positioned to be inaccessible from j behind said door, common operating means which is actuated when the door is closed to operate both lock mecha-l;4

a closed position; and meansl nisms to lock the door in couplingsaid common operating means to said drop bolt for downward movement of said drop bolt when said common operating means is actuated but ineffective to preventsaidactuation of said common operating means l if said drop lbolt is held upwardly out of locking relationlship with said door, said coupling means including a link which is movable downwardly in responsel to actuation of said common operating means, said link having a por'- tion which defines an upwardly facing shoulder and hav- Each door may be opened manually now-and may be moved back and forth freely. The spring 161 and slide block 151 couple the door carriage to the rack at this time so that the rack will slide back and forth with the door carriage even though latch 30, is uncoupled from cam 29.

VWhenthe shaft is returned to the position shown in FIGURE l, another stop member l14 on this shaft engages t'he slide 111 and moves it to its position shown in FIGURE l. The weight of the mechanism connected to the lower end of chain returns the` parts of the two locks to the FIGURE 1 position.

The weight of the pivotally mounted gearmotor unit will cause it to drop down into engagement with the rack when such return movement of t-he shaft 95 takes place. When such return movement takes place, the follower 92a attached to the gearmotor unit rides down into the recesses 92e in the cam slot on cam 92.

As a precaution to insure that the motor drive is locked in meshing engagement with the` rack, there is provided an actuator slidably mounted on shaft 95. This actuator is engaged between two compression springs 141 and 142 which normally position it midwayv between the brackets 93 and 94. Actuatorl40 extends down from shaft 95 over a projection 143 on the housing 59 of the means operating said second ing an opening in said portion, and said drop bolt having means at its upper end which extends slidably up through -said opening and which has anenlarged portion resting on the top of said shoulder. l

2. In combination with a door frame having a top portion and aside portion extending down from said top portion, a door carriage slidably mounted on said top portion, a door disposed below said top portion of the doorway frame and connected to said carriage to be moved slidably thereby between an open position in which the door is positioned away from said side portion of the doorway frame and a closed portion in which the door is positioned next to said side portion of the-frame, and a Afirst lock mechanisml acting between the door and said side portion of 'the door frame for locking the door closed,

the improvementrcomprising: a second lock' mechanism disposed above said top portion of the door frame and inaccessible from behind said door, said second lock mechanism including a latch engageablel with an apertured member rigidly fastened to said doorl carriage to lock the door closed, a cam which is above said top portion of the door frame upon closing of the door, a cam follower which engages said cam and is displaced thereby upon Said movement of the cam, and means actuated by said cam follower for operating both said lock mechanisms to lock the door when the door is closed, said last-mentioned door closed independent of the operation of said first lock mechanism,l a power-driven rack vmounted slidably above said top portion of the doorway frame, and coupling means which couples the rack -to the Idoor carriage during movement of the door from operi to closed positions and release means for uncouplingA the rack from the door carriage upon continued movement of theraek after the door has reached its closed position, said cam being connected to said rack to move therewith forV operating it will be apparent that..

lock mechanism to lock the ',motor and a self-locking gear drive which is driven by` Vsaid motor and meshes with said rack to operate said rack, said drive effectively locking the rack and the door against movement except by said motor and a third lock for said door.`

thereby constitutingV 4. In combination with al door which isimovable .bey tween-open and closed positions, a doorway frame at which said door is mounted, said doorway frame having t a side portion toward which the door is moved when being closed and a top4 portion disposed above the'top ofv v1` .said door when said door is closed, a first'lock means acting vbetween said door and said side portion of said doorway for locking said door closed, a second lock mechanism disposed above said top portionV of said doorway frame and inaccessible from behind `s'aid door, saidi hold down. element secured onto said motor-arrangement,

a second hold down element, and means for shifting said second lock mechanism being operative to lock the door closed, the improvement comprising: a door carriage operably connected to said door, a cam means carried by said carriage, a link for unlocking said lock mechanisms in unison, said second-lock mechanism adapted to engage.,-

or any intermediate position comprising in combination: a first gear locked to and movable with said` door, a gear motor arrangement comprised of an electricwmotor and a second gear operatively associated witli said electric motor through a 'wormgear drive arrangement capable of transmitting torque-only from said motor to said second gear, means mountingv at least said second gear for vertical movement,` said second gear being urged downwardly 'by fthe force of gravity into drivingengagementkk withsaid first gear, whereby when said motor is not electrically energized, saiddoor will be locked against movement in either direction, said gear motor arrangement being movableto move .said second gear from engagement with said firstgear, and manually operable means for raising said second. gear out of engagement with said-first gear wherelhit-said door may be freely moved in either direction.

` 9. Avremotely controllable operating mechanism for movingA ajail door as defined in claim 8 including a first Second hold down element into blocking relationship with Said first hold-downelement when said second gear is in said driving engagement with said'first gear.

said carriage to lock said'door,and lost motion meansVV between said link and said first lock `mechanism whereby locking movement of said second lock mechanism is not prevented by blocking locking movement of said firstl mechanism, and a shaft mounted to be reciprocated in two directions above said top portion and generally par- 5 alleLto saidmarriage, and means on said shaft-,for pulling yisaiti'iliillt' upwardly when said shaft -is'nioved in-one dirack.

rection only beyond a predetermined position.

S. In a door operating mechanism having a rack which is movable lengthwise to open or close said door, a motor, and gear meansdriven by said motor and meshing with said rack to drive the latte'r, said gear means being oneway, self-locking for locking the rack and door against movement except through drive imparted to said gear means by said motor, the improvement'comprising: an actuator Ameans for selectively moving said gear means out of engagement with said rack, .said actuator means comprising a member capable of being manually moved adjacent said gear means and conversion means for converting movement of said member'into selective movement of said gear means away from said rack, said member gear means.

6. The improvement as defined in'claim 5 wherein said gear means and said motor are mounted as la unit, said unit being pivotally vmounted on an axis transverse to said door and spaced horizontallyfrom said gear means, said conversion means including a cam `and cam follower operably connecting said shaft and said .unit whereby movement of said shaft pivots said unit away from said 7, A jail door operating mechanism comprisingf a tx L0. lA jail door operating and `locking arrangement comprising in com-binationa door'frame defining an opening, a housing associated with said frame and extending to a point substantially remote from and inaccessible from the immediate vicinity of said frame, a door movable to open andiclose said/opening, a first gear positioned within said housing above said door iand having operatively associating same with said door'whereby movementof said first. gear moves said door, a second gear in said housing above said door and normally meshing with said first gear, an electric motor in said housing above said door operatively associated with said second gear and adapted, when appropriately electrically energized, to notate said second gear in either of two direc- Vtionsrto open and close said door, means locking said mem-ber positioned in said housing and extending generally reciprocally mounted rack, said door being carried by saidVV Y rack, an'electric motor pivotally mounted adjacent said rack and having a pinion drive gear adapted to engage said rack, a lock mechanism for locking said door in a closed position, a cam means carried byA said rack for actuating said lock mechanism whensaid door is closed,

a shaft shftablesin a first and second axial direction parallel with said rack, means on said shaft for pivoting said motor when said shaft is shifted in said first axial direction to release said gears, and a lock actuator on said shaft for unlocking said lock-mechanism when said shaft is shifted in said first axial direction, a means on said shaft for pivoting said motor when said shaft is shifted in said second direction to releaseV said gear and means for preventing actuation of said actuator when said shaft is shifted in said second axial direction.

45A being a 4shaft capable of being reciprocated adjacent said v from said electric motor to said substantially remote point, means urging lsaid second gear into mesh with said first gear at all times except when said rod-like member moves said gears out of mesh whereby said door is unlocked and can be freely movedindependently of any other door operating mechanism.

1l. A ail door operating and locking arrangement comprising, in combination, a doorframe defining an opening, a housing associated with saidfframe and extending to a point substantially remote from and inaccessible from the immediate vicinity of said door frame; a door movable to open and close said opening; a first gear positioned within said housing and generally above said door; meansffor securing said door onto said tirst gear; an electric motor with an outputA shaft mounted within Isaid frame and generally above said door; a drive train between said shaft and said first gear whereby rota- 8. A remotely controllable operating 'mechanism for. Y

,A moving a jail door from an opened to a .closed positionr and releasably locking said door in either ofsaid positions tion of said shaft in one ldirection opens said door and rotation of said shaft inl the opposite direction closes said doorlocking means in said drive train for allowing torque transmission throughI said trainin only the direction from said motor to said first gear during normal operation of said door; a manually movable rod-like element extending from the vicinity of said-drive train to said remote, inaccessible point; andmeans for unlocking said locking means of said drive train uponl movement of said rodlike member into la first position, alocking mechanism for locking said door in the closed position, and means for unlocking said locking mechanism upon movement of said rod-like member into a second position.

'cans l2. A jail door operating and locking arrangement as defined in claim 1l wherein said gear train includes a torque limiting clutching device.

13. A remotely controllable operating mechanism for moving a jail door from an open to a closed position and for rcleasablylocking said door in either of said positions or in any intermediate position comprising, in combination, a housing above said' door and having a remotely accessible opening; a first gear releasably locked to and movable with said door; a gear motor arrangement in said housing above said door and comprising an electric motor, a second gear, and a drive connection between said motor and said second gear; means for mounting said motor arrangement with said second gear meshing with said first gear; a remotely controlled mechanism including a manually movable member extending from said remotely accessible opening to the general vicinity of said motor arrangement; means responsive to movement of said member in a first position for allowing said motorv to drive said first gear through said second gear, means for preventing said second gear from driving said motor when said movable member is in said first position; means responsive to movement of said member in a second position for releasing said first gear from said drive connection and, thus, said motor whereby said door may be manually moved between open and closed positions, a second locking mechanism independent of said motor arrangement and operative to lock said door closed, means for pnlocking said first gear from said door when t said door is closed, means responsive to movement of said first 'gear by said motor in the closing direction lafter said 14 door is closed electrically to lock said second locking mechanism, and means responsive to movement of said first gear by said motor in the opening direction to first Aunlock said second locking mechanism and then lock said first gear to said door for movement of said door with said first gear and in the opening direction.

14. A remotely controllable operating mechanism for moving a jail door as defined in claim 13 wherein said gear train includes a torque limiting clutching device.

References Cited by the'Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,090,383 3/1914 Cantrell et al. 74-467 1,611,260 12/1926 Youngblood 49--18 1,864,347 6/1932 Garber et al. 49--20 2,072,339 3/1937 Johnson 74-422 2,166,527 7/1939 Johnson 268-53 2,287,422 6/ 1942 Field 49-14 2,287,423 6/ 1942 Field 49-14 2,290,114 7/1942 Metzler 49-15 2,346,424 4/ 1944 Grifiith 74-422 2,359,654 10/1944 Ligh ,74-467 2,686,577 8/ 1954 Hoppenjans 49-18 2,755,081 7/ 1956 Johnsonet al 268-53 X 2,899,027 8/ 1959 Adam 49-16 3,017,967 1/ 1962 Adam 49-18 R. Si. VERMUT, ssstant Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A DOOR WHICH IS MOVABLE BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS, A DOORWAY FRAME AT WHICH SAID DOOR IS MOUNTED, AND A FIRST LOCK MECHANISM FOR LOCKING SAID DOOR CLOSED, SAID FIRST LOCK MECHANISM INCLUDING A DROP BOLT WHICH IS MOVABLE DOWNWARD TO LOCK THE DOOR CLOSED, A SECOND LOCK MECHANISM FOR LOCKING THE DOOR CLOSED WHICH IS POSITIONED TO BE INACCESSIBLE FROM BEHIND SAID DOOR, COMMON OPERATING MEANS WHICH IS ACTUATED WHEN THE DOOR IS CLOSED TO OPERATED BOTH LOCK MECHANISMS TO LOCK THE DOOR IN A CLOSED POSITION, AND MEANS COUPLING SAID COMMON OPERATING MEANS TO SAID DROP BOLT FOR DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID DROP BOLT WHEN SAID COMMON OPERATING MEANS IS ACTUATED BUT INEFFECTIVE TO PREVENT SAID ACTUATION OF SAID COMMON OPERATING MEANS IF SAID DROP BOLT IS HELD UPWARDLY OUT OF LOCKING RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID DOOR, SAID COUPLING MEANS INCLUDING A LINK WHICH IS MOVABLE DOWNWARDLY IS RESPONSE TO ACTUATION OF SAID COMMON OPERATING MEANS, SAID LINK HAVING A POR- 